It’s the most coveted spot on Selection Sunday: The 1 seed.
In 1979, the NCAA tournament bracket was expanded to 40 teams, and for the first time in tournament history, every single team in the bracket was seeded.
But no program has started the tournament on the top line more than North Carolina.
The Tar Heels have been a No. 1 seed 18 times in March, with the first coming in 1979 and the most recent coming in 2024. Of their six NCAA tournament championships, five came when UNC was a No. 1 seed. The sixth came in 1957, before seeds were established.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: All-time No. 1 seeds and year-by-year results
Only four programs have earned a top seed double-digit times. After North Carolina (18 times), the order goes Duke (16), Kansas (15) and Kentucky (12).
Here is the full list of all the teams that have earned a 1 seed since 1979:
Number
Team
Year(s)
18
North Carolina
1979-2024
16
Duke
1986-2026
15
Kansas*
1986-2023
12
Kentucky
1980-2015
8
Arizona
1988-2026
7
Virginia
1981-2019
6
UConn
1990-2024
5
Georgetown
1982-1989
5
Gonzaga
2013-2022
5
Michigan State
1990-2012
5
Oklahoma
1985-2003
5
Purdue
1988-2024
4
DePaul
1980-1984
4
Florida
2007-2026
4
Houston
1983-2025
4
Illinois
1989-2021
4
Michigan
1985-2026
4
Ohio State
1991-2011
4
UCLA
1979-2008
4
Villanova
2006-2018
3
Indiana
1987-2013
3
St. John’s (NY)
1983-86
3
Stanford
2000-04
3
Syracuse
1980-2012
3
UNLV
1987-91
2
Arkansas
1991-94
2
Auburn
1999-2025
2
Baylor
2021-22
2
*Louisville
1983-2009
2
LSU
1980-81
2
*Memphis
2006-08
2
Pittsburgh
2009-11
1
Alabama
2023
1
Cincinnati
2002
1
Indiana State
1979
1
Maryland
2002
1
Massachusetts
1996
1
Minnesota
1997
1
Missouri
1994
1
Notre Dame
1979
1
Oregon
2016
1
Oregon State
1981
1
Saint Joseph’s
2004
1
Temple
1988
1
Texas
2003
1
Wake Forest
1995
1
Washington
2005
1
Wichita State
2014
1
Wisconsin
2015
1
Xavier
2018
*Appearance later vacated by Committee on Infractions.
